Tubular supporting member



March 1954 M. s. DUNKELBERGER 2,670,736

TUBULAR SUPPORTING MEMBER Original Filed March 1, 1946 IN VEN TOR.

M/L TON of 0UA/K5L 566668 HA'TTA/S Patented Mar. 2, 1954 21370336 T BU AR QW Q TIN MEM ER.

Milton S. Dnnkelberger, Dayton, Ohio Qri inal mplicat March 1, .4 Ser a No.-

195 S r l s-2 M Cla ms. 1

This invention relates to a device to facilitatemanipulation of rubber members and the method for doing so and more particularly to a device that may be used in startingthe insertion of a rubber tubular member having a closed and upon a member of the human body.

When a rubber linger-stall is to be applied to a finger or when a rubber tubular memberisto be applied to the human body member for prophylactic or hygienic purposes, great difficulty is encountered in the application of the rubber member.

An object of this invention is to provide a support fora flexible tubular member having a closed: end and adapted to be rolled uponthe support, the support holding the rolled portion of the tubular member while the closed end is projected through the tubular member and while the closedend portion of the tubular member is applied to a member of the human body, the support holding the rolled portion until the member of the human body has been projected into the closed end, after which the rolled portion is rolled oh the support and unrolled upon the member of the human body.

Other objects and advantages reside in the construction of parts, the combination thereof d. he de of per tion as will becom more apparent from the following description.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal cross sectional view showing a flexible tubular member having a clos d end and a roll PQt i n up r d p n a sup r n m mbss Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the support showing indentations used for the purpose of identification.

Fi ure 3; is a, per pecti e ide elevational view with the upportin rin in position.

Figure 4 is a View similar to Figure 3, but showing the supporting ring partially removed and in section.

In the drawings, the reference character it indicates a rubber tubular member provided with a closed end I2. The open end of member Gil before use is generally rolled or coiled into a ring. These rubber members may be shipped, packed and stored in this condition. In the past, when using the rubber member, the member of the body to be covered has its end inserted against the closed end of the rubber member and then the member is unrolled, so as to be stretched over the member of the body to be protected. This is oftentimes a diiiicult manipulation, for the reason that when rolling the rubber, the rolled portion is not easily stretched.

Div ded and this ppl cati n. Ju e. '1

To facilitate insertion of the member of the body, the rubber member may be partially unroute and the coil or roll M of the rubber member rolled upon a ring or supporting member It. This ring I 6 may be'made from metal, plastic moldinginaterial' or any other suitable material, having the required rigidity. In Figure 1; the roll portion has been shown schematically s In this r i u r gur nl a small. number of the convolutions have been shown. In actual use the roll portion may consist er a large umb r of son i ises- E tilisrmqra in this f r h ickne s 0?: the. rubber. e? h s e ly xag erat for qn ee i ra s. w ll nown to these ski ed. h art, E5 pbfi m mber ri .1 i 45 3 for ioeh lsstiq HW JQQ A sxtrsl l thin and of light weight. I

T rin su or n membe t. has Pa ribk mars neli qr pns 8. nd 2, @912 stins to f rm n. annu ar g ov hat 9gcave in cross 560171011911. 1. 3231 15. clea ly SQEP i u e 1 a d .1 This. n u ar swore erns at o th o l d rubber A s rtie}. oi he. me ber of th bod to be prot ted a been shown schematical at t T e n o member 26 is projected into the tubular member ID, hay: is th $0 l4 submit ed 11.91 the ring it as shaw Fi ur may be in, F re 4, thev rol it is rel-led. r st ip ed f th r ngs, sq hat the pe it a he. rem ed and t e be of the. rubles! mem er ru ed; umn. he mem er f the bear o b rotecteds m y he cle rl s n Fi u e. the ub ar ubbe member ii" b. unrolled over d t am t e me er or utted end edit o he. member is. be ro ested, so a erm t. eas unr' lini of the n rtic of the rubber forming the roll hi. The ring or supporting member It forms a temporary support for the roll Id of the rubber member it.

As may be clearly seen in Figure 1, a portion of the rubber member extends through the annular supporting member or ring [6 and the coil or roll [4 is so positioned on the ring I6 that the coil or roll portion of the rubber member may be rolled from the supporting member or ring it, the roll being rotated in the direction such that as the rolling operation continues, the roll is unwound upon the member to be protected. As viewed in Figure 1, the roll is rotated in a counterclockwise direction to remove the roll from the supporting member or ring 16. By continuing the rolling of the roll in a counterclockwise direction, the roll is unrolled and when the member of the human body is inserted therein, the tubular member is unrolled upon such a member. If the roll were mounted upon the supporting member in such a manner that in rolling the roll from the supporting member or ring the roll would not unwind, the supporting member would then be of no use.

In order to provide identification marks that may be felt, any suitable indentations or irregularities, such as notches 30, may be cut or formed in the rib 20, that is, the exposed rib of the supporting member. These irregularities or identification marks may be felt by touching the ring or supporting member It. The member of the human body should enter the ring from the side opposite the identification marks, so as to position the rubber member ID upon a member of the human body, without the member of the body being visible.

Due to the fact that the rubber member is made from flimsy, light weight material, and due to the fact that the rubber member may be used in association with delicate tissues, all surfaces of the ring is are preferably highly polished, so as to present a smooth surface that is not likely to injure the rubber member or the member of the body. A slight hole in the rubber member may defeat its usefulness. V

The ring or support it has a maximum diameter that is less than the diameter of the rolled portion of the tubular member mounted on the ring or support It.

Throughout the specification and claims the rubber member has been referred to as having a closed end. The device herein could be used for a rubber member having an open end, as for example, it could be used in connection with an elastic hose or leg protector, used by victims of varicose veins.

Furthermore, ring, as used herein, need not necessarily be a round ring; but could be a polyg- This application is a divisional application of my copending application Serial No. 651,395 filed March'l, 1946, for Tubular Supporting Member, now Patent No. 2,567,926, issued September 18, 1951.

Although the preferred embodiment of the device has been described, it will" be understood that within the purview of this invention various changes may be made in the form, details, proportion and arrangement of parts, the combination thereof and mode of operation, which generally stated consist in a device capable of carrying out the objects set forth, as disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The combination of an annular ring with a rubber tubular member having a closed end adapted to be applied upon an external member of the human body, the margin of the annular member being provided with an annular seat, a roll formed from a portion of the rubber tubular member mounted upon the annular seat so as to permit the closed end of the rubber member to project through the center of the annular ring, the closed end of the rubber member forming a cup-shaped cavity so as to facilitate the applica-- tion of the rubber member upon the external member of the human body, the maximum diameter of the ring being less than the diameter of the rolled portion of the rubber member supported thereon.

2. The combination of an annular ring with a rubber tubular member according to claim 1, wherein one margin of the ring is provided with irregularities discernible to touch, the side having the irregularities being exposed when the roll of the rubber tubular member is mounted in the seat of the ring.

3. The combination of an annular ring with a prophylactic rubber tubular member having a closed end adapted to be applied upon an external member of the human body, the margin of the annular member being provided with a pair of rib-like portions cooperating to form an annular seat, a roll formed from a portion of the rubber tubular member supported upon said seat so as to permit the closed end of the rubber member to project through the center of the annular ring, the closed end of the rubber member forming a cup-shaped cavity so as to facilitate the application of the rubber member upon the external member of the human body, the maximum diameter of the ring being less than the diameter of the rolled portion of the rubber member supported thereon, the internal diameter of the ring being iarger than the diameter of the member of the body to be protected, the exposed margin of the ring when supporting the rubber member being provided with identification marks that may be felt to facilitate the insertion of the rubber tubular member upon the external member of the human body.

MILTON S. DUNKELBERGER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 35,744 Wittstein Feb. 18, 1902 1,992,344 Alhadate Feb. 26, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 232,797 Germany Oct. 11, 1910 595,416 Germany Apr. 10, 1934 

